More Than Meets the Eye

From a distance, and even as you get closer, you could swear that Paul Gilb's car is a stock 1936 Hudson Terraplane. But considering that Paul is a charter member of the Vintage Street Rodders of American, you immediately start looking a little closer.

The Hudson Motor Company was founded in 1909 with the intent of building quality cars at affordable prices. Run by a group of experienced automobile guys and primarily backed by Detroit department store magnate Joseph L. Hudson, the company was successful from its beginning through the 1920s. Hudson offered the first truly affordable, all enclosed car, the Essex. The Essex helped propel sales and actually drove the company to being the number three selling automobile company in the country, trailing only GM and Ford in 1929.

Sales began to decline as the Great Depression hit and Hudson made a bit of a gamble in an attempt to make an even more affordable car. Shrinking the wheelbase of the Essex and finding ways to cut down on the cost of the car they introduced the Terraplane in 1932.

Weighing in about 400-500 pounds lighter than the Essex, the Terraplane was powered by a 193 cubic inch six cylinder engine that spit out 70 horse power. To put it wryly, these cars could fly.In fact, aviation pioneer Orville Wright owned one of the first Terraplanes to come off the line and aviatrix Amilia Earhart was on hand for the car's introduction.

Despite the economic hard times of the Great Depression, the Terraplane had strong sales. Still, by 1938 Hudson decided to phase it out and incorporate the Terraplane's design strategies in with smaller Hudson badged cars.

Paul's Terraplane originally came from Hazard, KY and was owned by a group of enthusiasts there. Paul said he had to wait until the last member of that group passed away before he could take possession of the car. He immediately took it home to Aurora, IN.

While the car may look stock on the outside, it is hiding a powerful secret beneath its shining gray skin. The car has a 401 cubic inch AMC V8 racing engine that churns out 500 horse power. Paul got the engine from Atlanta. Since Hudson was one of the automobile firms that were all rolled into American Motors Corporation, Paul says that he has been able to use a lot of old AMC parts to keep the Terraplane running.

He added that that was a good thing because he drives the car a lot. With a beautiful machine like this, who wouldn't. This really is a car that has more than meets the eye.